The Movie Plug

Wow, posting again! Forgot to mention that G and I saw "Sky High" on Friday night. We're both secretly 14 year old girls in love with the idea of superheroes, so this movie was right up our alley! And surprisingly, it did not disappoint. I actually loved it! It was cheesy but in a funny way, it didn't take itself seriously, great covers of 80s songs in the background, some pretty cool special effects, and great casting. Speaking of casting...the guy who plays Warren Peace (see? what a cute name!) is brutally hot. Too bad he's only 19. But seriously. I googled him (Steven Strait if y'all wanna look him up), my favorite past time, and it turns out he's some high fashion model-turned-actor. He's got the lead role in a new Lions Gate film called Undiscovered with Ashlee Simpson (gag), he sings, went to catholic military boarding school, is into reading american lit, geez, why can't guys like this exist in my neck of the woods? (But read previous post to see how even if they DID exist, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.) Always crushing on the impossible. That's my life story. Anyhoo, I want to see this movie again if anyone else is interested. But please forgive my drool puddle on the sticky movie theater floor. :)

The Pointless Blog

Sorry folks, nothing really new to report. But I feel bad that I haven't updated in over a week, so just to prove I'm still around, here's a little blog. Because I like sounding like a broken record, I guess I shall give an update on me and moving. Got a note on my door that said I'm not moving until 8/10. So yay! A full 9 days more to pack! I'm actually almost done, I think. All I have left is my larger furniture items (couch, bed, tv's, etc.) and some last minute kitchen, bathroom, and computer stuff. Okay, it sounds like a lot, but in all honesty it's not. So I'm happy about that! Still not 100% sure where I'm going to be living or when I'll be living there, but I've learned to accept it for what it is.

Let's see what else is going on...ah yes, block party yesterday in MB. I only stayed for a little bit but got to hang out with ML, Y, KA, and a little bit of CS. Sad that G wasn't there, but I had a nice time. I've realized, however, that I really need to work on my social/flirting skills. I didn't just notice it yesterday, it's been on my mind more recently. And not like I saw anyone yesterday that I thought was cute, but in the event I AM in a situation where I think someone's cute...How does one just walk up to a random cute guy and start chatting? How do I gain the self confidence that apparently attracts more of the opposite sex? There used to be a show called Date Patrol on TLC. I felt sorry for the people for having no skills whatsoever dealing with dating, but I am now contemplating hiring a coach of my own... Where does one find such a person? And how do I do it without feeling like a complete loser? Any tips would be most appreciated.

We've got a new VP in our department. I'm still a bit on the fence as to whether I'm in hell or not. She's some big wig from Estee Lauder in NY, although no one can find any information on her on the internet (sketchy much?). First thing she changed when she came was our cube decorations. Yes, we work in a converted warehouse with stark white walls, gray cubes, and exposed ceilings. But we try to "fun" it up by proudly displaying our best packages above our cube walls and pinning colorful posters outside our cubicle space. We also have curtains (mine was an old 1980s Smurfs bedsheet) that we pin up when we need some privacy to work, eat, sleep, whatever. VP's first order of business is to demand that we take anything that goes above or outside of our cubes down or else we will get assigned to her "task force." No joke, her "task force." She also walks the halls in the mornings to see who shows up to work at what time. Yes, work starts at 8am and most of us don't get there until 8:30 or so. But we all get our work done on time and most of us stay until after 5pm so that makes up for the time difference, right? So why should it matter if we're half an hour late? She has most recently met with one of the other teams and lectured them on how they were all lazy designers and some of them were going to be "weeded out" and everyone's on probation in her eyes for the next 3 months. On top of all of that, JS, my favorite manager (not being sarcastic), is being shipped off to HK for the next 6 months so there's no one blocking G and I from the evils of KISS AND the new VP. Guys, seriously don't know how much more I can handle...

The Neverending Story of my life

Search for a new apartment, search for a boyfriend, search for a new apartment, keep searching for that special someone. It's a vicious cycle that is consuming my life! Why can't I have both? Why can't I find either? Why is it so hard in this booming capitalistic society? ML's post has stirred up my feelings of...I don't know what, but feelings.
I keep dancing around the subject of am I going to move at the end of this month (which would be next week, yikes!!) or extend my lease 'til next month. I've finally decided to suck it up, save the cash, and pack like mad and store all my stuff somewhere and live with SW for a month. Turns out there's a storage place right down the street from me in Venice, so I think I'll be making nightly trips there to dump my junk. I've come to this conclusion (very late) because: a) I'll be saving $1500 which is a BUTT LOAD of money that I could spend on something much nicer than my shady apartment, b) I get to hang out with SW, a really cool designer who has become G's and my mentor (she got him the job at M, which then got me the job), c) I'm trying to take the reins of my life and stop procrastinating. Even though it comes at a really bad time at work, and I'll probably not sleep at all this next week, I think this is the right decision. I hope this is the right decision. And even though this means I'll have to essentially move twice (once to the storage place, once to my new place), I don't have THAT much stuff, so it shouldn't be too bad. So wish me luck! If anyone's free next weekend who wants to get a good arm workout, ring me up!

The Leak at the Con

Haha, just HAD to call it that! But I swear that it will be the only time I will refer to it as the "Con"....maybe. Such a word is only to be used by the nerdiest of nerds, those who think that it makes them cool, but really they're only enhancing their geekiness. So anyway, G and I headed excitedly to SD early Friday morning, hit a couple of patches of unexpected traffic, but on the whole we made good time. I couldn't stop the cursing and the impatience (oh, and the cramps), but G kept me sane by reading me the latest, juiciest gossip magazines. Aww, what a great friend! But everyone knows how great G is, and as to not inflate his ego any further, we shall continue. We met up with Vitatwin and Sven at their hotel and walked to the convention center a few blocks away. I won't bore you with the details, which included these poor people dressed head to toe in skin tight blue spandex unitards handing out SBC Global blue bags, a Klingon family, way too many storm troopers to count, a few SpiderMen, some scantily clad Viking women with rolls of fat bursting out of their chain mail, some more scantily clad Anime girls wearing thongs and fishnet hose, a teenage girl with the BIGGEST and most balloon-like chest I have ever seen, and mothers trying to distract their 7 year old sons to look in a different direction. The booths were, I don't know, not as great as last year. Maybe because last year was my first time going, I was caught up in the moment of toys and costumes and really fantastic displays. But this year, perhaps attribute it to my oh-so-familiar "meh"ness, I just didn't have the heart. I only bought 1 book and picked up a cute little thing for my awesome manager, Papa J (thanks for spotting it, G!), and that was it. Last year, I spent close to $400, I think. So a huge change. When I'm not spendin', I'm not happy.

Oh, I forgot to mention that all 4 of us were wearing t-shirts I designed that said "Veronica is my B.F.F." and a line-art version of Veronica. It's very cool, a la "Free Winona" and "Save Martha" with pink ink on a brown shirt. I was hesitant to wear it at first, because I always feel awkward when others are wearing the same clothes as me. But eh, it's Comic-Con, it's only once a year, and I would clearly not be the nerdiest person there. Although I did wear a jacket over my shirt for most of the day. We DID see an actor hired to dress as Willy Wonka, and I got a good picture with him. Everyone was just standing a ways in front of him and Darth Vader snapping shots, but no one had the guts to actually go up there and ask for them to pose WITH someone. I dunno, I think I got a lot gutsier because of Comic-Con. With a little nudging from G, I walked up to Willy and asked politely, and he said sure. Of course, that's what he was paid to do, so perhaps it wasn't as bold of a request as I imagined. Anyway, as we were posing, he said through the corner of his mouth "So you guys like Veronica Mars? Have you seen every episode?" "Yes! Do you watch it too?" "I'm in it." My head whipped around so fast just as G snapped the shot. Wonka laughed and we posed again. Apparently he plays one of the cops, but he only has like 1 line per episode. But it was still cool.

Things brightened more when we got to the Veronica Mars panel. As Sven and I headed to the room, he said "Let's try to sit in the very front so that the panel sees our shirts!" Great idea! Except that as we approach the room, we see a line of at least a hundred people who had already thought of the same thing. Granted, none of them had cool shirts like us, so we were not jealous. While standing in line, the poor kid in front of us--in fine Comic Book Guy form-- kept trying to chat us up about the "rules of the Con" and what-not. He held a bag of trash in his hands, and I noticed that something started to drip it. Trying to be nice, I pointed it out by apparently saying "Um, you're leaking." It doesn't sound so funny as I'm typing it, but it was funny last night as we were discussing it over dinner!

So the panel was great, consisting of VM's creator Rob Thomas, Joel Silver, Enrico (Keith Mars), Francis (Weevil), Teddy (Duncan), Jason (Logan), and Charisma Carpenter (I didn't know her, apparently she was in Buffy and Angel as Cordelia? Now she's on the cast). G took the initiative to be the first person to ask the panel a question and to show off our fabulous shirts. RT mouthed to him something to the effect of "Great shirt." I had printed a shirt for Kristen Bell (Veronica) as well as Rob Thomas and was going to give it to RT at the post-panel autograph session. But judging by the size of the crowd and fearing I wouldn't meet him then, I also went up to ask a question and give RT the shirts. He was very appreciative and was surprised that I made him a shirt too. He said "You're so sweet!" and Enrico said to me "What about me?" Already prepared, I told them I didn't know their sizes, handed him my business card, and told him to contact me. As I walked away, Weevil said (and everyone heard) "Dude, I got her number!" Teehee! Hello, self confidence now at a 10! :)

We left the panel early to try to be one of the first to get an autograph. Again, WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM THAT THEY BEAT US AGAIN? There was a long line already formed, and the crowd controllers told us that we might not get autographs. :( They put a cut-off line a few people in front of us, and for 45 minutes it was pure torture. The line ahead of us thinned down, and I had a straight visual shot of "Logan." I made eye contact at him, and he waved at me. I gave him a pleading look to let us through and pointed down at my shirt. He gave me a sympathetic look and gave a two-handed "sorry, I can't do anything" wave. :::Sigh::: Turns out he's married, I found out today! So we DID end up squeezing by at the end, we were some of the very very last lucky fans. Of course the cast recognized us when we got to the front of the line, and Enrico (Keith Mars) knowingly brought out my business card from his coat pocket. I got them all to sign the back of my shirt, although I did offer that Francis and Jason could sign the front of my shirt. ;) And maybe I was hallucinating, but it seemed as though Francis might have fancied me a bit. I dunno, G might have a more unbiased view. They were all very sweet, but unfortunately the crowd controllers were pushing us along and wouldn't allow us to really chat or take pictures with them. Oooh, I'm mentioned in the Television Without Pity forum too! Woohoo!

After our giddiness subsided, G and I went to visit our coworker DK who was selling his comic book. He hired us a few months ago to design the cover of his book, and it looks great. He took a break from his booth and we walked around a bit to a few of the toy companies' displays. Sven and Vitatwin met up with us again (they were in line for Elvira's autograph), at which point I was beyond pooped. I ended up taking a break at one of the eating areas and let the others walk around until the convention was closing up. We ate back at the hotel's cafe and drove back home. By that time, it was 11:00pm and G agreed to come with me to pick up my copy of Harry Potter. We were exhausted and completely irritated by the excited and extremely annoying children and parents, but I got my copy! I started reading it last night and picked it up this morning right where I had left off. I finished it by 4pm, and now I'm kinda sad that it's already over. I might start reading it again tonight. :) I read through it so quickly the first time that now I might go back to savor all the little details and hints I probably missed during the first go-round.

And this post is a lot longer than I expected it to be. So sorry for that. But yay for Nerd Weekend 2005!

The Mehness Continues

Not as much as before, but still a little bit. And I realized that I was PMSing, so hopefully the mehness will end soon. Harry Potter comes out this weekend, and I'm hoping to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory with G, and I'm checking out another house in ES on Saturday as well as my friends' 2/2 on Sunday, so I do have an action-packed weekend to look forward to. Another thing that isn't going to well these past 2 weeks is WW. Sounds like everyone's falling off the band wagon, or at least "taking a break", so I don't feel too bad. But at the same time, everyone else has lost more weight than I, so while they're off, I should try to catch up and stay vigilent, right? Tonight was especially bad. Potato chips, soda, 2 cheeseburgers and a hot dog. Lickity split during lunch and a piece of birthday cake this afternoon too. Oooh, not good.

The Unexpected Company

Sorry, my life hasn't been very exciting lately, no big romantic links, fashion themes, or words of the day whenever I feel like it. :) But a little quirk that broke up the monotony of my usual work week: my cousin MC with whom I haven't had an actual conversation with in over 5 years called me yesterday after lunch. He was on his way to HK for a mission trip but had forgotten his passport back in TX. Poor kid. First time traveling abroad. So he had a delayed layover at LAX until midnight, got my number from his mom and rang me up. I picked him up, fed him some In N Out, and let him crash at my place until I was done with work. Then we went out to dinner and I showed him around the beach towns a little bit. We also watched the season premiere of The Surreal Life which was REALLY GOOD, and I dropped him back off at the airport at 10pm. Point to my story was I don't know if it was "fate," as KA has recently experienced, but it was actually a really nice evening and it turns out he and I had a lot more in common than I realized. He IS a blood relative, so I guess it's a given that we would share some common interests, but anyhoo. Good thing I live so close to the airport and that I was free to hang out with him.

Still haven't settled upon a new apartment, 2 weeks left, starting to get really nervous. I can extend the lease of my current place and pay week to week, so I definitely think I'll have to do that. Even if I can find a place in time, at least I'll be able to move progressly rather than having to clear out my entire place in a day or two.

So I have started talking to this guy from match, it's still very new so I don't want to dwell on it too much, but so far we seem to be interested in the same sort of things. But he asked the same thing that all of us single girls hate: "So why are you single?" I mean, it was veiled in a nicer way, but still...I was itching to say "stupid boys," but I restrained myself. :) Will keep you posted.

G, Vitatwin, Sven, and I head out to Comic Con this weekend. G and I are only going for Friday, but I'm getting excited. A paid vacation away from work! And I get to hang out with a convention center full of smelly nerds who only come out of their rooms once a year. Woohoo! But seriously, it's bound to be a ton of fun. Hanging out with G+V+S=12 hours of hilarity.

The In Between

Today, actually for a few weeks now, I've had this feeling of "meh." G introduced me to this word, apparently from the Simpsons. So everything that's just so-so is just meh. I don't know what's wrong with me. Am I just PMSing? Possibly. Still burnt out from work even though I was gone from the office for 8 days? Perhaps. It's so weird. Usually I'm emotional about SOMETHING, optimistic about who-knows-what, but lately I've felt so blah. Just meh. There's a lot of things transitioning in my life. I have to find an apartment and move and change my address and cancel my bills and all that stuff in just 3 measly weeks, and I'm really worried about that. Today I vowed I would find a place, but after only 2 hours of driving around the south bay, I feel like giving up. I went to Lickity Split and cheered myself up a little with a root beer float, but the feeling of euphoria didn't last too long. I begin my search again tomorrow, hopefully with higher spirits. At work, 7 people have given their resignation in, like, 2 weeks, and there's supposedly a round of layoffs coming up, so that doesn't make one feel very good about their employment either. I'm not worried about being laid off or anything. I'm actually more worried about the increase of work that will be thrown on us. And my stupid boss KISS just blew the rest of our budget for the year (mind you, it's only mid-July), so we can't do any more fun "team outings" or expense "trend shopping" items, I'm guessing. And for one of the projects I work on, we hire an outside illustrator to do all the drawings. He isn't too expensive, but he ain't free, so I don't know how we're going to continue paying him...Well, actually, maybe going over our budget isn't such a bad thing. We'll just keep having to go over our budget and then maybe, MAYBE, the company will realize that KISS is a bad boss and fire him.

Sorry this post isn't very fun or happy, I wish I had something more entertaining to write about. Maybe next time!

The Long Weekend

Just got back-literally-from the airport. Finally I'm back at my apartment! Ate WAY too much this weekend, and don't want to bore you nice people by listing all my meals, but needless to say I need to get my butt to the gym PRONTO. And I think I got my southern accent back while in H-town, but we'll see what KA and G say when I'm at work. Crossing my fingers again about a potential roommate. This time it's a girl named AN who is a marketing girl. She also lives in MB and hates her roommates so she heard about me, and we're going to meet up for lunch tomorrow. This blog is short, as I need to shower and head into the office for a bit. I've been keeping tabs on my work email and it sounds like I'm going to have a fun weekend ahead of me. Woohoo. *Note the sarcasm.*

So besides ML, y'all need to start postin' again! Y' hear???